Six Principles to Close Deals Faster

Closing the deal. There’s no place in the sales process that is more upfront and personal. So much pressure. A lot is riding on getting agreement. And even the best sales professionals can misstep. Here are six closing principles to help you Close Deals Faster.

Closing Principle #1: You cannot close until the buyer is ready to buy

If you do try to close before the buyer is ready, it will almost always signal to them that you’re too “pushy.” From neuroscience studies, the image of the car salesperson will flash up in the buyer’s mind and they’ll attach that image to you. You now have at most a five percent chance of ever making the sale to this buyer. Experienced salespeople will never try to close before the buyer is ready. They know the negative impact it creates in the buyer’s mind.

Closing Principle #2: Most buyers will almost never close themselves, even when they are ready

Once buyers decide to buy, they quickly become frustrated with sellers who do not recognize that they’re ready. The window of opportunity to close the deal is short. If you miss this short window or are timid at this point, you have a 90 percent chance of losing the sale. I recall when my wife and I were planning an addition on our house. We were so impressed with the second of three contractors we interviewed that we were ready to sign with them. The architect pushed their proposal across the table to us and said, “I guess you’ll want to think about this for a week or two?” We went with the third contractor.

Closing Principle #3: The combination of the conversation and the buyer’s body language tells you when the buyer is ready (buyer’s shift)

This ability to recognize the buyer’s readiness to buy is the most critical principle of all. You need to watch and listen for the buyer’s shift – when the buyer changes their point of view and decides to go with you and your proposal. You’ll get some verbal signals, but the shift is predominantly communicated by nonverbal signals. Body language is the most telling indicator. It accounts for 55 percent of the shift signals and the dialogue accounts for the other 45 percent.

If you look and listen carefully, you’ll notice multiple buyer’s shift signals occurring simultaneously. If you see a mismatch between what the buyer is saying and the signals from their body language, always believe the body language. Body language almost always conveys a person’s true feelings and it’s not too hard to see what the body is saying. If there’s tension, they’re not ready. If they’re relaxed, they’ve shifted.

Closing Principle #4: Buyers want a definitive closing proposal

When it comes time to propose the close, buyers don’t want a long story. They don’t want a two-paragraph close. Buyers want a clear closing approach. And they want you to be in charge of this part of the conversation. If you sense that the buyer is ready, it’s time to use an appropriate closing approach. There are many of these, yet most buyers at this point respond positively to a direct closing approach: “Joe, would you like to wrap this up on June 15th?” There’s no ambiguity. You’ve directly asked for the sale. Buyers expect you to ask for their business, so don’t disappoint them.

A good way to think about more complex closings is closing the next step. As you go through the sales process, many small closes should occur that will keep the sales process moving forward. Examples of these are: setting a date for the next meeting, sending additional information that the buyer agrees to consider, and even giving yourself an action to create a reason for the next meeting.

Closing Principle #5: Once you make the offer, be silent until the buyer responds

After you ask for the business, it’s imperative that you say nothing until the buyer responds. Everyone on your side needs to stop talking at this point. I cannot tell you how many sales calls I’ve gone on with a technical person in tow, who talks after I’ve made a closing approach. That interruption takes the buyer off the hook without having to say anything. A very experienced buyer will also know this principle and sometimes remain silent.

In most cases, buyers are not being silent as a negotiating technique. They’re just analyzing, thinking, processing, comparing and considering. They may be comparing your offer to what others have offered. They may be projecting what their CFO will say about the price. They may be thinking about a lot of things. And if you interrupt their thinking, they’re no longer THINKING! In addition, when you interrupt a buyer’s thinking, you’ll come across as rude. Now there’s literally a zero chance of getting the sale.

Closing Principle #6: Once the buyer has agreed, QUIT TALKING ABOUT THE DEAL

Thank the buyer and shift the discussion to weather, news, or sports. Buyers are busy; it’s time to go. Not only that, the best way to “unsell” a closed deal is to keep talking about it. The buyer may discover some aspect of your offering that needs further discussion, delaying the sale. Here’s an example that I saw happen. After the buyer agreed and shook hands, the salesperson said, “Thanks, this will be so great. It will be our first time for this kind of deal!” (The buyer literally groaned.) Then the buyer replied, “Did you say this is your first time?” The seller sheepishly nodded. The buyer responded, “I need to rethink this.”

These six closing principles can help you with even the toughest of buyers. Start using them now and get ahead of the pack.

JOHN ASHER, author of Close Deals Faster, is the CEO of Asher Strategies, a high-level growth strategy consulting firm focused on improving sales for business-to-business companies. Asher is the #1 rated speaker on sales for Vistage, a worldwide network of CEOs. Over the last two decades, he has mentored a large cadre of speakers and trainers that has fueled the growth of ASHER.